Haunted
by armoiise
Summary: Love can make you see things; even people, who are not actually there. But love can also blind you, preventing you from seeing the one you’re supposed to.
1. Ch1

**So I found this in my drafts; it's an alternate of one of my one-shots. But this looks OK on its own, kinda. So I'll put this and the next 3 chapters here and then maybe I'll keep writing it.**

She was reading a book, and sometimes would take a sip from her tea. Gray, dull eyes would never look up, giving him the chance to watch her in peace. She would always wear her chestnut hair down, letting it frame her face like a mane. Her face was always stern, but in 'an angry little kid' way. Serious face gestures didn't fit her.

At least, that's what Atem thought. He liked to imagine her smiling, laughing; wishing she would at least not always frown.

"You're staring again..." the blond alerted and tapped his forehead, reaching an arm. He knew it the moment his obsessed friend started to respond with short answers, and daze off often. "You creep."

"I'm not a-"

"Nuh uh- you don't get to say you're not." Joey wagged a finger at him. "I'm surprised she hasn't noticed yet. I know she has not, because anyone in her place would've already thrown her drink at your stupid stalker face."

"Stalker?" Atem furrowed his eyebrows. "I wouldn't go that far." The second he saw Joey's mouth open he cut him off. "And don't you dare say 'Yet'."

"Wasn't gonna." A sly smirk formed on his face. "We're already there man."

"What?"

"Atem... You're trying to make it seem like a coincidence, but whenever we come here she's here too. I'm pretty sure you memorized her entire schedule at this point."

Atem scoffed and leaned back on his chair. "That's not true. You're over exaggerating."

"Am I though?" Slurping his drink, Joey rolled his eyes. "Think about it. We went from staying up all night, college bars and drinking 'till we don't remember what happened in the last 24 hours to; waking up early, stylish coffee places and..." he took a second to observe the cup he was drinking from, "...fancy drinks with confusing names and over the top prices."

Atem had to laugh at that. Yes, maybe his life was different from what it had been a year ago, but it wasn't a change for the bad. "If it's any consolation, you look healthier now that you don't go to sleep at dawn. And I'm not the one telling you to drink that sugar induced drink, so don't blame me for that." He pointed at his coffee and smiled.

The blond rubbed the bridge off his nose and threw his head back. "That's not the... Look buddy, I'm awake at 10 A.M. and I'm not happy about it. We should give the girl a rest."

"No one is forcing you to come here Joey." he said and continued watching the girl sitting behind his annoyed friend.

"But if I don't you'll do something stupid, or get caught stalking and then I'll have to bail you out of jail for getting into a fight and all..." he trailed off.

"We're at a coffee place, in the morning, surrounded by sober people. That should be the least of your concerns." Atem said not meeting his eyes.

"And there we go again..." said Joey and snapped his fingers repeatedly next to his own face. "My eyes are right here!"

"You know what, I'm not bringing you here again. Have your sleep and wake up feeling bad because you wasted a whole day, I don't care." Atem took a sip from his coffee. He knew Joey would eventually give in and come here with him.

While his friend worked his mouth about things Atem was not listening to, his eyes found the girl again.

He was not obsessed. Yes, maybe he had memorized the days she came here. Maybe the exact hours too. That wasn't such a big deal. And he sometimes recognized some of her clothing items from seeing them so much; but that was normal. He also knew she liked to drink herbal tea, but she always ordered them, so anyone would know that. When she came she would either read a book, or draw in a small black notebook. She played with her hair while she read; tapped her foot while she drew. If possible, she always sat at one of the tables set next to the big windows. She often wore oversize t-shirts tucked in her skinny jeans. She dazed off a lot while staring at the sky, lost in her own thoughts.

It was not an obsession. Atem was an observant guy, he couldn't help it. Especially when it was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.


	2. Ch2

Grouchy from waking up with random loud clanking, Atem swung open his bedroom door and walked to where the sounds were coming from with brisk steps. He found Joey in the kitchen, awake and dressed.

"What in the hell..." he looked at the clock hanging on the wall, "It's not even 9, how did you wake up?"

Throwing the last of his dirty dishes in the sink, Joey sighed. "After five damn loud alarm clocks." He rubbed his temples.

"Why? Weren't you the one who told me waking up before noon made you feel tired all day?

"I need to go and help Mai at her place. We're going to clean out a room. She asked me if I could lift some of the heavy boxes laying around."

Atem rested his shoulder at the doorway. "Oh? Is she having a roommate?"

"Dunno. She said something about a friend coming over though. Might be a guest room." Joey answered and walked past Atem. "I'll be back after 8 or so."

"Give me a call if you guys need any help." Atem called out and a few seconds later, the door to the apartment opened, then closed as Joey left.

️️️

His phone ringed in his pocket and Atem answered call after checking who was calling him.

 _"Hey. You busy?"_

"No. Do you want me to come over?"

 _"Uh. Yeah. There's this one dresser that needs to be moved from its place. Can you... um... it's urgent though, like you need to fly over here."_

"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can. But, tell me why am I rushing again?"

 _"Uh... I have my reasons, okay? Just come here."_ Joey said hurriedly and ended the call.

Various plots in his head, Atem left the apartment, and walked to Mai's. Her house wasn't too far away. He could've taken the bus to save 10 minutes but this was the closest thing to exercise for him. A twenty-minute walk it is.

When he arrived, Joey opened the door, grinning a wide smile. "Hi buddy!"

Atem rose an eyebrow. "Hi..." He walked in and looked around. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah yeah yeah..." the hurried voice of Joey sang and closing the door, he threw an arm around Atem's shoulders. "You're one lucky guy let me tell you that."

"What?" He had came here to carry boxes around and move furniture. Atem couldn't see anything luck involved. "What are you up to?" He gently pushed Joey back.

"Let's just go to the room."

As Joey led Atem through the corridor, to the room at the end, the discussions of two women could be heard. One of them, Atem recognized, was Mai.

"...And the hairdresser is really close by, she can give some shape to this mess on your head."

A light-hearted chuckle. "Thanks, but I like it this way." another voice came. It seemed like Mai was going to get a roommate.

They reached the room with where two young women stood inside. Mai and...

"Atem? What are you doing here?" Mai asked when she noticed the guys standing in the doorway.

Joey's arm snaked around Atem's neck once again.

"I called him over to help us out before we finished everything. I mean jeez, you might as well hadn't come..." he blabbed.

Meanwhile, Atem heard none of it. She was standing there, right in front of him. And he was staring openly.

"Oh, right, we had company." Joey grinned and walked in the room until he was standing between his friend, and the brunette. "Atem, this is Mana. One of Mai's old friends." Then he turned to Mana. "And this Mana, is my good friend Atem. You may shake hands." He stood proudly.

Mana gave him the barest of smiles and reached out a hand. "Nice to meet you." She wasn't exactly meeting his eyes.

"You as well." Atem took it, and shook the softest hand he had ever held.


	3. Ch3

After their sudden introductions, and a couple of hours of getting to know each other, Joey and Atem had learned about Mana and Mai's past.

A few years back, the girls had been working together and were very close, until Mai had to move to another city. Long distances never worked for anything. Be it relationships, be it friendships.

And having found each other again weeks ago, Mai had convinced Mana to move out of her university's dormitory and into her apartment. This way, the older girl was hoping to regain the old cheeriness back into Mana, who was denying that she ever lost it.

Mai knew better, of course. The girl she had befriended years ago was always in a good mood, knew how to put smiles on other people, and could cheer up everyone in an instant. But now, it looked like she had lost her shine, and Mai was eager to find out what had caused it. She just needed Joey and Atem to leave before she bombarded Mana with questions.

Not long after Atem arrived, the two left to head home, and gave the girls time to rest on their own.

"They seem nice." said Mana in a low voice, while Mai closed the door before locking it for security.

"Hm?"

"Your friends, they seem nice."

Mai sat down next to the girl and lounged. "They're your friends too now."

"Joey, was it? He's kind of... uh..."

The blonde chuckled and started to play with the ends of her hair. "A loudmouth?"

"I was going to say energetic, but that also works." Mana answered with a faint smile. "And Atem seems a bit more proper."

"Oh, you have no idea..." rolling her eyes, Mai tried not to smirk. That idiot may have changed over a short time, but you don't lose old habits, they say. She remembered it like yesterday when they would invite her to their night-outs that she refused to go; then the very next morning they wouldn't remember a thing that happened. God knows what they did those nights, and Mai could only hope that they would get back home safe and sound.

"Do they come here often?" the brunette asked.

"I think so, yes. Their place is not too far away. It'll take you ten minutes to get there if you take the bus." Mai informed Mana. "They're both too lazy to cook so they come here for dinner."

Mana seemed thoughtful after Mai's last statement.

"Would they bother you? If so, I can talk to them. I don't think they'll mind." Mai reassured.

"No, it'll be rude to mess with their routine. They can come and go as they please."

The older girl grinned playfully. "Really? Well, it seems like you liked them more than I thought you would." she mused. "Hands off the goofball though."

Mana tilted her head, confused. "Hands off the...? I... didn't realize you were a thing."

"We're not. It's just- We have something. An unspoken thing..." Mai trailed off. "But Atem is single, if you're interested?"

Gray eyes widened. "I'm not, thank you. I mean, he seems alright; but for someone else maybe."

"Oh, are you still with that guy? What was his name? Uh..." Mai tried to remember the name of the pale guy she had seen with Mana a few times. This was surprising, given that Mana would not stop talking about her oh-so-perfect boyfriend.

"Bakura." Mana answered for her, looking down.

"Yes! Him."

"No, um... I'm not with him anymore."

Mai pursed her lips. "I'm surprised. I remember you not shutting up for even one second about your lover boy. What happened?"

Mana breathed in. "Stuff."

Even though she had decided not to push it just now, Mai would learn what had happened either way. Maybe it was the reason her friend had changed so much.

"I see." she smiled and stood up, hand fishing her phone out of her pocket. "Hey, I'm starving, want to order out?"

️️️

After her first evening at her new apartment, Mana retreated to her room. It looked empty now with just the basic bedroom furnitures, but it was her job to turn this room into somewhere she felt at home.

She turned the lights off and laid on her bed, hoping she could at least get some sleep before he showed up. That is, if he woul-

 _"I like your new house. At least you'll have some personal space here."_

And here he was.

Groaning, Mana rolled to her other side to face the wall. "Why did you do it?"

 _"Did what?"_

"You made me think you vanished when I came here."

He suddenly appeared in front of the wall, lying next to her. _"You always buy it, how can I not?"_ His hand went up to her hair, as if to stroke it.

"You're cruel." She closed her eyes. "Why can't you just leave me?"

A grin formed on his pale face. _"You're too enchanting to leave behind."_ His hand hovered over her silky hair. _"Besides, it was you who wanted me back, wasn't it?"_

"I didn't think... It's been years..." Mana turned her back to him.

 _"But wouldn't you be alone if I were to leave you again?"_ He was sitting on the windowsill now, looking up at the night sky. _"Think of all those times you wished I was by your side... all those times you missed me..."_

"I miss you _now_."

 _"And I'm here with you."_ He turned his head to meet her eyes.

Mana shook her head. "You're not supposed to be." She sat up straight on the bed, and looked at him, who was now sitting next to her. "I can't move on if you won't either."

 _"I'm only here because you want me to, Mana. You keep me here."_ He reached his hand to her cheek. _"You want me here. And you're smart enough to know I won't leave just because you move out of somewhere. I don't understand why you keep doing it."_

"I'm going insane." whispered Mana. She leaned back. "Why can't I just... _not_ imagine you?"

 _"You're not imagining anything, beautiful. I'm very much real."_ He chuckled in a low tone. _"As real as I can be, anyway."_

"My Ryou wouldn't do this to me. You're just this... wicked demon I created and cursed myself with, that refuses to leave me alone until I'm broken, completely empty inside." she said, voice barely audible. "You're an insult to him."

Sharp, claret red eyes watched her try to hold back tears. _"You're saying that, but it's not the truth. It's not your truth."_

Mana looked down, knowing he was right. She couldn't bring herself to believe any of the things she spat at his face. Her heart insisted on having him, keep believing it was him.

 _"I wish I could hold you."_

When she looked up, he wasn't there anymore.


	4. Ch4

"Looks like it's going to rain." Atem looked up, and shoved his hands in his jacket's pockets. "We should've taken an umbrella."

"We'll borrow one from Mai. And if a storm comes up -or we just feel lazy- we can always crash there." added Joey.

Atem tsked. "Mai doesn't live alone anymore. You can't do whatever you want while someone else also lives there."

The blond walking next to him snickered. "Right. Mana lives there now. You excited to see her?"

"Are you even asking?" His amethyst eyes shone remembering the maiden that stole his heart. It had been a challenge, asking Mai and her new friend if they would like to join him and Joey at lunch, and not sound like he specifically wanted Mana to join them.

After a short bus ride, they were at Mai and Mana's apartment, ready to pick them up.

"Mai... I swear, you and your crazy makeup obsession..." Joey muttered, seeing the young woman open the door with her brushes in her hand, her makeup halfway done. "It's just lunch."

Mai didn't respond, and went back to her room, while Atem's eyes searched for Mana as he walked in the living room.

"Give her a rest, Joey; you do this every time we come here." Atem threw himself on the couch, and got comfortable. This was a second home to them, after all.

The girl he was looking for came out of the kitchen, and Atem sat up properly. The shuffling sounds caused Mana to notice him.

"Um... Hi." she stammered, and averted her eyes shyly.

It took Atem a minute to respond to her greeting. His eyes took notice that she was wearing glasses. Suddenly, captivated by her eyes, his throat dried.

"Uh..." he gazed into her eyes. Intimated by his weird and long stare, Mana's hand found her cheek.

"Is there something on my face?" she asked hesitantly.

Atem blinked upon realizing he had been staring so openly. "No, I'm sorry. I was just... Do you use contacts lenses?"

The brunette looked like she was almost going to laugh. Atem just knew that look. "I do."

He let out a forced laugh to ease the tension he caused. "Oh, okay... Because your eyes were a different color the last time I saw you, if I recall correctly." _Gray with aquamarine undertones,_ thought Atem but didn't say it aloud.

"You would be right, I use black lenses." she touched her black glasses.

Atem only nodded and kept his opinion to himself. "Why colored?"

Mana fiddled with her fingers. "I... wanted to try it out." She decided not to explain that her dead boyfriend was haunting her and she was punishing him by not letting him admire her emerald eyes.

They were his favorite thing to look at, he would say back then. And now he taunted her for this silly restriction.

After Mai was done with her makeup, and Mana had put on her contacts on; they left the house to go to one of the restaurants nearby. It wasn't necessarily fancy, but good, still.

"So, what do you think? We come here quite often." asked Mai and elbowed Mana from her chair.

"The food aren't pricey." she mumbled and continued to choose a meal for herself.

Joey yawned and leaned back. "You don't talk much, do you Mana?"

Mai stumped her high heeled foot into Joey's leg, making him jump and yelp. "Shut it you loudmouth!" The way he talked without thinking drove Mai mad. He was going to make someone really upset someday.

"Sorry - I'm sorry!" the blond tried to keep his cool and rubbed his leg. "Mai..."

Mana looked up at Joey, but didn't say anything. As her protective friend defended Mana, she felt a chill up her spine.

 _"My, my... he has no manners."_ he said appearing just behind her.

The brunette frowned, and stared at the menu in front of her. The best way to get rid of him was to ignore him.

"You have to excuse him, Mana." said Atem apologetically and threw a look at Joey.

 _"Your standards for friends got lower and lower after me, I see."_ Bakura mused. _"The blonde next to you. You met her when I was still around, right?"_

Mana furrowed her eyebrows and her eyes narrowed. Her grip on the menu was getting stronger.

"Until you can manage to say something appropriate keep that mouth shut." Mai narrowed her eyes at the blond.

 _"Mai. Yes. She hasn't changed. Still has your back. Good."_

Hearing his words, her eyes softened. Bakura used

to got along with Mai as well, when he would visit Mana at her work. It wasn't what Mana would call a friendship but Mai still remembered him, and he remembered her.

Well, of course he would. He was something Mana had created with her own mind.

 _"Oh, do my eyes deceive me or is he checking you out?"_

Mana looked up and saw Bakura walk and stand next to Atem, who was just in time to rip his eyes off of the girl sitting in front of her. He had a pinkish blush on his cheeks.

"Excuse me." Mana stood up and sprinted to the restrooms. When there, she walked in one of the stalls.

The worst part of having him around was not being able to talk to him with others around. She had no intentions of being labeled as a lunatic.

"Where are you?" she called out for Bakura.

 _"Right here, love."_ he tapped on her shoulder to turn her around.

Mana sighed. "Can't you at least... not come out while I'm outside?" She rubbed her temples.

The ghost put his hands on his hips. _"I try to. But I sensed that you were feeling down."_ Bakura frowned. _"That idiot just ruined your day, didn't he?"_

"He didn't do it on purpose." said Mana, but more to herself.

It was true that she didn't talk much. She didn't wake up energetic any longer. Not starting the day with someone waiting for you, was something that she still didn't get use to.

It was as if when her Ryou left, he had taken her with him, and left a soulless body behind.

His pale face got closer. _"But he hurt you."_

Mana rolled her eyes, she chuckled out of self-pity. "I'm used it by now."

 _"You're such a bummer, my fragile flower._ " Bakura sang, grinning. He used to say it to mock her, copying her words.

She couldn't help but smile at that. "You stole my line."

 _"But it put a smile on your pretty face."_

Then he left, the joy he caused still prominent on Mana's face.

She returned to their table short after. Joey was the one to talk first. "Mana, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it, I was just-"

"It's alright, Joey. We're good." She reassured and mustered the most genuine smile she could.


	5. Ch5

**Ummm. Okay. 4 hours ago I had no idea I would write another chapter for this but here we are. Enjoy!**

 **I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

That morning when she woke up to a rainy day, Mana knew her day was going to be a frustrating one.

She used to love the rain. Back when she was just a little girl, jumping in the puddles to annoy her brother, run around until her clothes were soaked; the long conversations she would have with her friends at a cafe after school, racing the drops on the window against each other...

 _She saw him right away when she got off the bus, running steadily to him before her hair and clothes got too wet. He reached his arm outward to share his umbrella._

 _"Uh... I didn't know it was going to rain today." he said looking away. "We might need to change our plans."_

 _It was evident just by looking at his face that he was in a bad mood now, but that was okay. He hadn't cancelled the date after all._

 _"Well, if I know anything about rainy days, it's that it's perfect for a visit to the movie theater! Wanna check it out?" Mana asked enthusiastically._

 _Bakura frowned but didn't reject as he started walking towards the city center, walking slower than he normally would for Mana._

She lazily stretched in bed and stood up, shaking the old memories away. They never did anything good for her.

When she headed out of her room and walked into the kitchen, she saw the trio had already sat around the table, chatting casually.

Joey was the first to notice her. "Mornin' Mana! We saved toasted bread for you." he happily said, raising her plate to the air.

She smiled and nodded as a thank you and grabbed the plate from his hand.

"Mana... look at you." Mai said thoughtfully, "Look at those eyes..."

It was true that Mana tried to wear her colored lenses as much as she could, even though her eyesight wasn't that bad.

But this was too early in the morning to go through that. "I got lazy. I'll just wear my glasses today."

 _"Huh?! What do you mean you can't let us in?" Bakura hollered, making the uniformed guy take a step back._

 _"I apologize sir, I'm only following orders. We cannot let you in after that last time." The guy averted his eyes from Bakura's. "After that last incident you've become known around here... we've been told to not accept payment from you. Again, I can't help you."_

 _Bakura kept the guy on his toes for a bit longer, staring him down before he got bored and clicked his tongue. "Whatever." He shoved his wallet and returned to the sitting area where Mana had been waiting for him._

 _"It's fine, the movie I wanted to see is 3D and I'm wearing glasses right now, it would've been uncomfortable to watch that right now. Let's find somewhere else to go!"_

 _She handed the umbrella back to him, hoping he wouldn't give up on her yet._

She had gotten more at ease with Joey and Atem around in the house, she threw herself on the couch, not bothered by Atem's presence.

But maybe, he was bothered by her, Mana thought as he gave one look at her and left the room.

Oh well, you can't win over everyone.

 _Mana exhaled sharply and ran a hand through her hair. "We should've known. It's rainy outside, of course everyone just jumped at the first cafe they saw." She searched the crowded place one more time for an empty table, even two chairs at the bar would do but no, nothing._

 _"Let's go. Even if we find somewhere to sit, I don't want to. Too crowded for my liking." Bakura simply stated and held her hand to guide her outside._

"Here you go,"

Atem's voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked at the coffee table where he set the tray. One cup of coffee, and one with herbal tea.

"You like this one, right?" he asked and took the coffee for himself. "I saw you a few times drinking it."

Mana rose from her slouched position to reach her cup. "Yes, I do. Thank you," she said. "You didn't need to though."

Was this why he had left? Silly Mana, always expecting the worst out of people.

"No no, it wasn't a trouble at all, I was going to get myself this anyway." He brought the cup to his lips, eyes glued to hers.

God, those were gorgeous. She should have been banned from using colored lenses. Hiding those eyes should be punished.

Mana shyly looked down to her own cup.

They had been staring at her strangely all day, she knew why. People had been commenting how beautiful her eyes were ever since she was little, and of course she was thankful for being born with them.

But it didn't matter what others thought. Because along with everything that made her Mana, once belonged to Bakura. Her sacred gaze included.

It didn't matter if someone complimented her eyes if that someone wasn't her Ryou.

Not that weird, ghostly figure though. Never him. Mana hated him.

"Thanks." she said one more time and took a sip.

 _She inched closer to him, moving her bag to a better place so it didn't get any wetter than it already had._

 _That simple rain had turned into a storm out of nowhere, Bakura's umbrella could handle only so much._

 _They had taken shelter at a narrow crook he had found between stores, waiting for it to stop._

 _Mana raised her head, which was so closer to his, and saw his face twitch with frustration._

 _"I'm sorry, Bakura. I'm the one who invited you, I feel guilty now. You went through all that trouble to stay with me. It's okay if you want to go now, I really won't hold it against you." Mana whispered apologetically._

 _"It's not you." he said, keeping his eyesight up. "I'm bad at this. Someone else could have found a way to satisfy you for sure. But I just don't know. This is all I can do."_

 _His monotone voice and unfazed face didn't give it away, but was he also nervous? Mana found that hard to believe._

 _But, going from what he said..._

 _She stifled a laugh._

 _"Our first date sucks, doesn't it?" she asked him through the giggles, catching a glimpse of his half smile._

 _"The worst date I've ever been on."_

 _Now she felt silly for getting nervous and thinking she wasn't enough for him. They were both bad at this._

 _Suddenly she was aware of his hand at the back of her head, she let him bring her_ _closer to his shoulder. A half hug, as much as he was comfortable with._

 _"Let's try it again some day."_

 _"Yeah."_

Rainy days were not the same to her anymore, they were no longer a reminder of her sweet childhood or preteen years. It brought only pain.

She would never get those moments back. She would never have him back.

How dare the earth keep turning, how dare they move on with their lives? He was gone! Ryou was gone and everyone else had the audacity to live their normal life as if nothing had happened!

Why couldn't anyone else feel this void?

From her spot on the couch she looked at Mai, swinging her controller at Joey's face after her victory with a big smile. She looked at Joey, pouting and mumbling stuff about "letting her win".

That light hearted teasing, she would never have again.

How could they...?

She closed her eyes, inhaled.

How could they be so easy with this small precious moment that she had lost forever?

"Mana."

When she opened her wet eyes, Mana was greeted by Atem's concerned face. He didn't touch her, did not get closer to her. Gently, and discreetly, he offered a napkin, which she took.

"Thanks." she whispered, appreciating how he didn't alert Joey and Mai right away.

"Of course."

He laid his back against the couch again, giving his attention back to watching the second round Joey had asked for, and giving Mana the space she needed. He wasn't surprised when Mana got to her feet and shut herself in her room a few minutes later.

Part of him wanted to follow, to ask if he could be of any help, but he doubted he could. They may be starting to be friends but Mana was still pretty much closed towards them.

The best thing he could do to her was to stay in place and keep that single tear a secret. And if this was the way to gain her trust, he would do it.


End file.
